Interactive wearable and portable smart devices

ABSTRACT

A computer-driven wearable display device incorporating a display engine for presenting virtual images to wearers is interconnected with a computer-driven portable display device incorporating a display screen for presenting real images to the wearers of the wearable display device. An applications management and communication system including an external manager application residing on the portable display device provides for managing and launching applications residing on the wearable display device through the user interface of the portable display device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to wearable displays that incorporate or areconnected to another device, such as a smartphone, having computingpower, preferably in communication with a network such as the internetor a wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For decades wearable displays have been referred to as HMDs (HeadMounted Displays) because of their bulky size and odd appearance,attributable among other things to the micro displays and theconventional refractive and or reflective optics that they employ. TheseHMD's are large, heavy, and practically impossible to make into fashioneyewear.

The technology for wearable computing has gained in processing powercomparable to that of modern desktop computers and is now small enoughto fit in the frames of glasses. In addition, optics and display systemsfor wearable displays have become both smaller in size and higher inresolution to the point where it is possible to place hi-definition (HD)displays and the needed optics in standard glasses-styled frames. Withthe advances in these technologies, complete operating systems can beincorporated into wearable display systems, creating a new productcategory, referred to as “smart glasses”; much like the addition ofcomputing power to portable phones, now referred to commonly as“smartphones”.

The compact computing power of smart glasses supports the possibility ofloading applications into the smart glasses and running the applicationsresident in the smart glasses. In addition, such smart glasses can beconnected to a smartphone or computer for supporting wearable computingthat can be fully cloud connected, with the smartphone, for example,acting as a user interface and running its own application synchronizedto the smart glasses. To make this work, there is a need to connect thewearable display to the wearable computer, e.g., smartphone, and then tomanage applications that are designed to work on both devices and inconcert with each other.

The smart glasses could be arranged to run applications independently orin concert with applications running on their paired (connected)computing devices, e.g., smartphones. Preferably the applicationsrunning in both the smartphones and connected computing devices aresynchronized or otherwise arranged to work together.

One version of the invention features a computing system for wearabledisplays. A computer-driven wearable display device incorporates adisplay engine for presenting virtual images to wearers and acommunication and video processor engine including a computer processor,together with an operating system for running applications residing incomputer memory, and a communications device for linking the computerprocessor to external devices. A computer-driven portable display deviceincorporates a display screen for presenting real images to the wearersof the wearable display device, computing power for running residentapplications and communicating with external devices, and a userinterface for interacting with the resident applications. Anapplications management and communication system includes an externalmanager application residing on the portable display device for managingand launching applications residing on the wearable display devicethrough the user interface of the portable display device.

Another version of the invention features a method of interconnecting acomputer-driven wearable display device incorporating a display enginefor presenting virtual images to wearers with a computer-driven portabledisplay device incorporating a display screen for presenting real imagesto the wearers of the wearable display device. The method includeslinking applications residing on the wearable display device withapplications residing on the portable display device through an externalmanager application residing on the portable display device, and sendinginput to one or more of the applications residing on the wearabledisplay device through a user interface residing on the portable displaydevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of a monocular wearable display devicereferred to as smart glasses.

FIG. 2 is an image of the monocular wearable display device as intendedto be worn by a wearer also holding a portable display device such as asmartphone.

FIG. 3 is a schematic depiction of the wearer illustrating a virtualimage presented by the wearable display device to the wearer.

FIG. 4 is an image of an optical display engine of the monocularwearable display device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of processor arranged for use in the smart glasses.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a communications & video processor engine of thesmart glasses in which the processor of FIG. 5 is the central hub of theengine.

FIGS. 7A and 7B depict the layout of the printed circuit board for thecommunications & video processor engine.

FIG. 8 is a chart of exemplary applications for the smart glassestogether with a smartphone.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of a typical layout of the display screen of thesmart glasses

FIG. 10 is a screen-shot of such a typical layout of the smart glassesdisplay screen as diagramed in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a screen-shot of the display screen of FIG. 10 inmid-vertical scroll.

FIGS. 12A and 12B are front and back perspective views of binocularsmart glasses with a conventional two-bow frame.

FIG. 13 depicts an interactive virtual image display as seen by a wearerof the smart glasses merging virtual information with the real worldview through the glasses.

FIG. 14 depicts a pairing one of the smart glasses to a smartphone.

FIG. 15 depicts installing a manager application for the smartphone.

FIG. 16 depicts an organization of the apps between the smart glassesand the external device, e.g. smartphone with the shaded icons residingon both the smartphone and the smart glasses.

FIG. 17 depicts wearer input to the smart glasses with the externalsmartphone running keyboard/mouse over a wireless link to the smartglasses.

FIGS. 18A-E depict cooperative functionalities of the smart glasses withthe smartphone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One example of a monocular wearable display device 10 with an over-earmounting of a type referred to as smart glasses is depicted in FIG. 1 inisolation and as intended to be worn by a wearer 36 in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the monocular smart glasses 10 can be arranged toinclude a select “Soft Key” 12, a power button (On/Off/Sleep) 14, twoLED lights (Blue and White) 16, a charging socket 18, two navigation“Soft Keys” (Volume Up/Down) 20, microphones 22, a compact displayengine 24, a camera 26, a micro SD slot 28, an ear-hook 30, and anear-pad 32. The compact display engine 24 is preferably supported on anadjustable length boom 34 and can include tilt control at the end of theboom for positioning the display with respect to the wearer's eye.

The compact display engine 24 is preferably capable of high contrast andbrightness suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The display 24 isintegrated with both the camera 26 for detecting information within theintended field of view of the wearer 36 and a processing engine towirelessly connect the smart glasses 10 to a smartphone 40. Both theprocessor within the smart glasses 10 and the processor within thesmartphone 40 can be operated using the Android OS (operating system),which enables the smart glasses 10 to achieve a wide range offunctionality and to run a wide range of applications.

As depicted in FIG. 2, the smart glasses 10 can be designed to workwirelessly with the smartphone 40 or other smart device such as a tabletor a PC that can be connected to the internet. As such, the wearer 36 ofthe smart glasses 10 is also the user of the smartphone 40. The smartglasses 10 can incorporate sensor technology to provide an interactiveenvironment that can merge virtual information with the real world. Forexample, with integrated camera and head-tracking technology, the smartglasses 10 can broaden a wearer's sensory perception by recognizingtheir environment and real world position, while recording andtransmitting what the wearer 36 sees. The built-in camera 26 allows forenvironment, object, and people recognition and tracking for augmentedreality (AR) implementations. Downloadable applications can be supportedproviding discrete access to applications from email to the web,location relevant data, first-person augmented and mixed realityapplications, and personal video recording, and visual navigation, aswell as gaming.

As schematically depicted in FIG. 3, the virtual image presented to thewearer's eye 38 can be arranged to model the appearance of a smartphonedisplay screen. For example, the smart glasses display 24 can bearranged to present to the wearer 36, a virtual image having a sizematching the size of a four-inch display screen 42 held approximately 14inches away from the wearer 36.

The optical display engine 24, as shown in FIG. 4, preferably has a highresolution WQVGA Color display 44 with a diagonal field of view of 14degrees and is left or right eye useable. For example, the displayengine 24 can have a 440×320 array of pixels with a response time of 60hertz. The contrast is preferably at least 225:1 with 24 bit color.Brightness is preferably greater than 1000 nits and more preferablygreater than 2000 nits. The optics preferably include a micro prism 46for projecting a virtual image into an eyebox preferably having a heightof approximately 6 millimeters and a width of approximately 8millimeters.

A diagram of an OMAP 4 8840 processor 50 arranged for use in the smartglasses 10 is presented in FIG. 5. The host device software can beiOS/Android, Windows, or Mac. For example, a fully optimized Android4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) can be used, which is designed to run on awide range of devices including phones, tablets, and TVs. The memory canbe built into an OMAP 4430 processor operating at 1 GHz with 1 GB RAM oran OMAP 4 8840 processor operating at 800 MHz having 4 GB Flash memory.

A communications & video processor engine 52 diagramed in FIG. 6 showsthe processor 50 as the central hub of the engine 52 with connections toa power source 54 via the charging socket 18, the high resolution WQVGAColor display 44, a communication device 56, an external memory input58, a head tracker 60, the event camera 26, the control buttons 12 and16 and an interface for a speaker 66 and the microphones 22.Connectivity options for power and communications include uUSB:control/Power/Upgrade, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth BT 3.0 or 4.0.The built-in camera 26 can be a HD 720p camera with a 16:9 aspect ratio,H.264 compressed over Bluetooth, video recording capable, and a Micro CFslot supporting up to 16 GB. The integrated head tracker 60 preferablyprovides measures over three to six degrees of freedom, including athree-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyro, and an integrated compasswith Bluetooth interface. The ear speaker 66 is preferably a hands-freeintegrated noise suppression speaker and the microphones 22 arepreferably noise cancelling microphones. The integrated button controlscan also include the power control button 14 and the volume up, andvolume down control buttons 20. The external memory input 58 can beprovided through an external flash slot, e.g., Micro Flash. For on-boardpower, an integrated battery preferably supports five to eight hours oftypical use with preferably at least two hours of display operation andone hour of display and camera operation. In addition to over-earmounting, such as via the ear-hook 30, the mounting options includeover-head and behind-head mounting.

Typical layouts of a printed circuit board 70 for the communications &video processor engine 56 are presented in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

Built with the basic functionality of a wireless “hands free” for a cellphone, the smart glasses 10 have advanced capabilities with the built-inWQVGA display 44, the 16:9 camera 26, and the OMAP 4 processor 50running Android ICS OS or other operating system. These features allowthe smart glasses 10 to not only answer the smartphone 40 but to browsethe web, video record special events, and add thousands of applicationsfrom gaming to work.

Utilizing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radio for communications, the smartglasses 10 operate as a standard “hands free” (through the BT radio)device 56 to the smartphone 40, and the smart glasses 10 can operate asa cloud-connected computing device (through the Wi-Fi radio). With theAndroid ICS OS running on the smart glasses 10, software app developmentfor the smartphone 40 is comparable to writing for any standard Androiddevice. Apps can either run independently in the smart glasses 10 or inconcert with the smartphone 40.

To charge the smart glasses 10, a charging doc can be provided, such asthrough the uUSB connection 18. The smart glasses 10 can also use theuUSB port to serve as the firmware update link to a PC or Mac.

The smart glasses 10 are preferably enabled with “out of the box”capabilities to perform advanced hands-free functions along withintegrated navigation through applications such as Google maps. Built-invideo recording to an internal flash or the HD micro flash support canalso be provided.

A chart of example applications for the smart glasses 10 together withthe smartphone 40 is presented in FIG. 8. An application management andcommunications system can be arranged to:

-   -   ensure that all applications (apps) are in sync between the two        devices (e.g., smart glasses 10 and smartphone 40);    -   enable the purchase of apps from multiple internet based app        stores and manage potentially multiple apps between the two        devices 10 and 40;    -   enable cloud communications and synchronization from and through        the two devices 10 and 40; and    -   create a cohesive user interface that runs and controls the apps        in the various modes that need to be supported.

Within various different modes of operation, computing functions can bevariously distributed between smart glasses and smartphones as set forthby example in the following table.

Smart Mode Glasses Smartphone Comments 1 Basic OS Application Anapplication running in the smartphone communicates directly with an OS(operating system) in the smart glasses. 2 Application No A standaloneapplication runs in the Application smart glasses and the smartphone isnot needed. 3 Application Application Applications on both the smartglasses and the smartphone run in synchronism with each other.

Smartphones, which typically include high-resolution touch displays,already provide highly developed graphical interfaces for downloadingand executing a large number of applications and many such applicationscan be adapted for use with smart glasses. For example, anythingdisplayed on the smartphone screens could also be displayed in the smartglasses 10. However, since the smartphones themselves have bothcomputing power and high resolution screens, the various applicationsrunning on smartphones, such as the smartphone 40, could variously beadapted to run independently on the smartphones or to run on thesmartphones in conjunction with applications running on the smartglasses 10. Graphical user interfaces can also be incorporated into thesmartphone 40, such as by incorporating cameras and tracking technologyto detect or display information within the intended fields of view ofthe smart glasses 10 or to detect movements of the wearers' eyes 38.

The device ecosystem of the smart glasses 10 preferably includesapplications running on either or both the smart glasses 10 or thesmartphone 40. For example, an external manager application arranged torun on Android or iOS phones or tablets can be arranged to manage andlaunch applications that run on the smart glasses 10. The externalmanager application can be launched from an icon displayed on the phone40 or tablet and presents an array of icons designed to launch specificapplications such as presented in the list below.

-   -   Home—Returns the wearer to the home screen    -   Keyboard—Starts a built in app that allows keyboard entry for        the smart glasses    -   Trackpad—Starts a built in app that allows trackpad        functionality for the smart glasses    -   Mirror—Allows the manager application to mirror the external and        smart glasses displays    -   Camera—Starts a built in app to allow video and pictures to be        taken by the smart glasses    -   Social Media Interface—Connects with (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube        Sharing) feeds    -   Shopping Bag—Starts a built in app for the smart glasses to        automatically barcode and scan for better prices    -   Streaming Media—Starts a built in app to start streaming music        and video    -   Setup—Setup function for both the resident manager application        and the smart glasses    -   AppStore—Function to go to a designated AppStore

A local manager application, which can be run by an Android or iOSoperating system residing in the smart glasses 10, provides a similarinterface for the smart glasses 10. The main screen of the smart glasses10 can display icons for applications that can be launched by one orboth of the local manager application or the external managerapplication. For example, icons can be displayed on the viewing screenof the smart glasses having status indicators as listed below.

Bluetooth On; Bluetooth device connected

GPS Active; Receiving location data from GPS

WiFi Active

Time

Battery

-   -   a Battery is Charging        -   Battery is partially drained        -   Battery is low        -   Battery is very low    -   Phone        -   Call in Progress        -   Missed Call        -   Call on Hold    -   Microphone is On, Muted    -   Sound Off, Muted    -   No MicroSD Card Installed    -   Camera On; Recording    -   Connected via USB Cable    -   New Message (Text or Multimedia Message)    -   Uploading Data; Downloading Data; Downloading Complete    -   Data Syncing

A typical layout of a virtual display screen 72 of the smart glasses 10is shown in FIG. 9. The layout can include, for example (from top ofscreen): a 25 px status bar—controlled by OS, a 135 px app scrollingarea with indicator for horizontal scroll (the apps displayed as icons74 can be categorized automatically by app store category, or by thewearer), and a fixed area on the lowest 80 pixels that carries, forexample, up to five apps 74 that are most likely to be used. Regardlessof where a wearer is looking through the categories of apps, this bottomarea can be arranged to always show these apps. The app layout area canbe 80 px×80 px, in which a 48 px×48 px icon and the app title iscentered.

A screen-shot of such a typical layout of the smart glasses virtualdisplay screen 72 is shown in FIG. 10. Another shot of the virtualdisplay screen 72 in mid-vertical scroll is reproduced in FIG. 11.

The wearer 36 can use the buttons, e.g., 16, on the smart glasses 10 totraverse from one app 74 to another. In mirror mode, the wearer 36 canrun or control applications running on the smart glasses 10. For furtherintegration, the smart glasses 10 can include sister applications thatare synced with applications running on the external device, such as thesmartphone 40.

Some of the basic functions that can be carried out on the smart glasses10 include: charging the device, power on/power off, Bluetooth pairingwith the external device, WiFi tethering, updating OS on the smartglasses, running Android SG controlling Applications, streaming audio,taking pictures, capturing video, and running gesture engines.

While the smart glasses 10 are intended to be fully functional whenconnected to an external power source, the on-board battery 54 mayrequire charging—itself from an external power source. To charge thebattery aboard the smart glasses 10, the wearer 36 can connect the smartglasses 10 via the micro USB port 18 into a portable USB battery pack, awall charger, or USB port on their computer.

The wearer 36 can preferably power on the device 10 whether it isconnected to an external power source or not. By pressing the powerbutton 14 for a predetermined length of time, e.g., one second, thesmart glasses 10 begin a power up sequence. A designated logo can appearon the smart glasses display while the smart glasses 10 arepowering/booting up. If the battery is low, a low-battery indicator canappear. If the smart glasses 10 were previously paired, thecommunication link 56, e.g., Bluetooth, can be activated.

The wearer 36 can preferably power off the smart glasses 10 whether theyare connected to an external power source or not. The power button 14can be pressed for a predetermined period of time, e.g., one second, anda shutdown menu can appear on the smart glasses display. Then, thesoftkey, e.g., 12, can be selected to choose among the menu items, orthe choices can be made through another button or input mode on thesmart glasses 10, e.g., a volume button.

The wearer 36 can connect the smart glasses 10 with an external device,e.g., smartphone 40 via Bluetooth pairing. For example, the Bluetoothsetting on the external device, e.g., smartphone 40, can be enabled andthe wearer 36 can add, search, or scan for devices including the smartglasses 10, which when found can be selected.

To install an application 74 on the smart glasses 10 or to update theOS, the smart glasses 10 can be connected via the mini USB into the USBport on an external computer. The application or updated OS could alsobe loaded on the smart glasses 10 via the wireless internet connection56. A range of applications including the latest version of the OS ispreferably made available through an AppStore website that is selectableas an icon displayed by the smart glasses 10. Preferably, allapplications and personal information on the smart glasses 10 remainspersistent during the uploading of new applications or the updating ofthe OS.

Enhanced hands-free operation of the smart glasses 10 can be enabled toreceive incoming calls to an external phone that is paired with thesmart glasses 10. For example, the smart glasses 10 can ring, vibrate,or display an indicator when a call is waiting. External phone contactinformation can also appear in the display. To answer the call, thewearer 36 can activate a softkey, e.g. 12 to select an icon or use avoice-activated command, such as “Answer Call”. The call will remain insession until it is disconnected. The wearer 36 can adjust the volume ormute the microphone 22 and disconnect the call in a similar manner. Thesmart glasses' display can also be used for video conferencing.

To place phone call through the paired smartphone 40, the wearer 36 canselect a phone application and scroll through a contact list on thedisplay. The wearer 36 can activate a softkey, e.g., 12, or use avoice-activated command such as “Make a Call”, or “Call (Contact Name)”,or “Call (Number)”, to initiate the call. An outgoing call indicator canappear in the smart glasses' display until the call is disconnected.

Binocular smart glasses 80 with a conventional two-bow frame 82 aredepicted in front and back perspectives in FIGS. 12A and 12B. Thesesmart glasses 80 include integrated qHD display engines and ultrathinwaveguide optics and can look like designer sunglasses.

The compact display engine is capable of high contrast and brightnesssuitable for both indoor and outdoor use. The output of the displayengine is relayed into see-through 1.4 mm thin clear polymer waveguidelenses 84 with input and output hologram structures on their surfaces.The light propagates down the waveguides 84 and then two-dimensionallyexpands into the wearer's eyes, creating an image that is mixed andoverlaid onto their real world view.

The binocular smart glasses 80 are designed to work with smart devicessuch as cellphones, tablet and PCs, which can be connected to theinternet. Capabilities similar to those already described for themonocular smart glasses 10 can be incorporated into the binocular smartglasses 80 and for sake of brevity are not repeated here.

In addition, as depicted in FIG. 13, the smart glasses 80 are preferablyinteractive and merge virtual information with the real world viewthrough the glasses—indoors or outdoors at night or in broad daylight.Integrated head tracking and options for multiple camera technologies,the smart glasses 80 can broaden the wearer's sensory perception acrossa greatly expanded light spectrum, recognize their environment and realworld position, while recording and transmitting what the wearer sees. Abuilt-in camera allows for environment, object, and people recognitionand tracking for AR augmentation, providing, for example, private accessto data and location relevant data, first-person augmented and mixedreality applications, and AR recognition of objects and markers toassist in maintenance and repair applications.

Example features include:

-   -   Display resolution: 960×540 qHD color displays        -   Field of View (diagonal): 30 degrees        -   64″ display as seen at 10 ft. (˜3 m)        -   Brightness >250 nits—full color        -   85% to 90% optical transmission of outside world    -   OMAP4430 at 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM, HDMI connector, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n,        Bluetooth, 915 MHz RF receiver, 8 GB SD card storage    -   Fully optimized Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3    -   1080p H264 decoding    -   Adobe Flash 11.x support    -   USB 2.0 micro OTG, compatible with Android adb server    -   NFC and LVDS features disabled but on the board    -   Support for camera based gesture engine interface    -   Hardware DRM for PlayReady    -   Fully optimized Ubuntu 11.10 with all hardware built-in glasses        for hi-speed video, media and AR control support and in-field        “applet” upgrades    -   HD camera        -   720P 16:9 aspect ratio        -   USB 2.0 output        -   H.264 compressed over Bluetooth    -   User selectable lens tint        -   Removable, clip-on/clip-off    -   Integrated touch sensors in temples        -   OSD, Volume, Etc.    -   Integrated head tracker        -   3-degree of freedom head tracking        -   Integrated compass

Optional battery

-   -   Up to 3 hours run time        -   Belt clip    -   Connectivity:        -   uUSB: Control/Power        -   Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: Control, compressed camera video,            microphone    -   Audio:        -   Removable noise suppression headphones        -   Noise cancelling microphone    -   Host device software

The view in FIG. 14 illustrates pairing one of the smart glasses 10 or80 to the smartphone 40, showing two different activity screens 76 ofthe paired smartphone 40.

The view in FIG. 15 depicts installing a manager application for thesmartphone 40. The manager application can provide a remote desktop tothe smart glasses 10 and also acts as the user input to apps 74 on thesmart glasses 10, for example through a mouse pad 82 or keyboard. Inaddition, the manager application can organize the apps 74 between thesmart glasses 10 and the external device, e.g. smartphone 40. The shadedapp icons 74 on the activity screen 76 of the smartphone 40 shown inFIG. 16 correspond to the apps 74 on the virtual display screen 72 ofthe smart glasses 10.

The view in FIG. 17 depicts wearer 36 input to the smart glasses 10 withthe external smartphone 40 running a keyboard/mouse 84 over Bluetooth orWiFi.

The views in FIGS. 18A-E depict hand-free operations of the smartphone40 through the smart glasses 10, including “seeing the world throughanother's eyes”, running a map applications, shopping, and imagedfeature identification.

The invention in one or more of its preferred embodiments allows wearersto manage, purchase and interface apps 74 between the wearable display(smart glasses 10) and an external device such as the smartphone 40, atablet or a computer. In this sense, the smart glasses 10 function asperipherals to the external devices. However, the smart glasses 10 canalso be used as stand-alone devices. With the addition of cameras andgesture engines or other environmental input devices, the smart glasses10 can provide a complete interface for carrying out processing andcommunication applications.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computing system for wearable displayscomprising: a computer-driven wearable display device providing areal-world view through the wearable display device to a wearer whileincorporating a display engine for presenting virtual images to thewearer, a communication and video processor engine including a computerprocessor and computer memory, an operating system for runningapplications residing in computer memory, and a communications devicefor linking the computer processor to external devices; acomputer-driven portable display device incorporating a display screenfor presenting real images to the wearer of the wearable display device,a computer processor for running resident applications, a communicationsdevice for communicating with external devices, and a user interface forinteracting with the resident applications; an applications managementand communication system including an external manager applicationresiding on the portable display device for managing and launching theapplications residing on the wearable display device through the userinterface of the portable display device independently or in concertwith the applications residing on the portable display device, and fororganizing the applications between the wearable display device and theportable display device, and; the wearable display device including anintegrated camera head-tracking technology residing on the wearabledisplay device to acquire real-world information about the wearer'sreal-world view and real-world position, the portable display devicebeing arranged to input the real-world information about the wearer'sreal-world view and position to applications running on the portabledisplay device; and the wearable display device being arranged fordisplaying visual navigation information recognized from the real-worldinformation about the wearer's real-world view and position overlyingthe wearer's real-world view through the wearable display device in theaugmented reality implementation.
 2. The system of claim 1 in which theexternal manager application presents an array of icons appearing withinboth the virtual images of the wearable display device and the realimages of the portable display device, and in which the icons aredesigned to launch applications on the wearable display device.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 in which the external manager application provides aremote desktop to the wearable display device to provide input throughthe user interface of the portable display device to the applicationsresiding on the wearable display device.
 4. The system of claim 1 inwhich the external manager application residing on the portable displaydevice is arranged to send input to applications running on the wearabledisplay device.
 5. The system of claim 1 in which the portable displaydevice has a further connection to a network of computers providing acommunications path for the wearable display device to exchangeinformation with the network of computers.
 6. The system of claim 5 inwhich the portable display device is one of a smartphone, a tablet, anda PC.
 7. The system of claim 1 in which an applications management andcommunication system includes a local manager application residing onthe wearable display device for managing and launching applicationsresiding on the wearable display device.
 8. The system of claim 7 inwhich the wearable display device includes a user interface forinteracting with applications running on the wearable display device. 9.The system of claim 8 in which the portable display device includes oneor more I/O devices operated by one or more of the applications residingon the portable display device, and the local manager applicationprovides for at least partially controlling the I/O devices residing onthe portable display device through the user interface of the wearabledisplay device.
 10. The computing system of claim 1 in which theinformation recognized from the real-world information about thewearer's real-world view includes a recognition of people.
 11. A methodof interconnecting (a) a computer-driven wearable display deviceproviding a real-world view through the wearable display device whileincorporating a display engine for presenting virtual images to a wearerand (b) a computer-driven portable display device incorporating adisplay screen for presenting real images to the wearer of the wearabledisplay device for an augmented reality implementation, comprising stepsof: storing a plurality of applications in a computer memory of thecomputer-driven wearable display device and a plurality of applicationsin a computer memory of the computer-driven portable display device;using an external manager application residing on the computer-drivenportable display device to launch one or more of the applications storedin the computer memory of the computer-driven wearable display deviceindependently or in concert with the applications residing on thecomputer-driven portable display device, and to organize theapplications between the computer-driven wearable display device and thecomputer-driven portable display device; operating an integrated cameraand head-tracking technology of the computer-driven wearable device toacquire real-world information about the wearer's real-world view andreal-world position; arranging the computer-driven portable displaydevice to input the real-world information about the wearer's real-worldview and position to applications running on the computer-drivenportable display device; and arranging the computer-driven wearabledisplay device to display visual navigation information recognized fromthe real-world information about the wearer's real-world view andposition overlying the wearer's real-world view through thecomputer-driven wearable display device in the augmented realityimplementation.
 12. The method of claim 11 including a step ofdisplaying an array of icons within both the virtual images of thewearable display device and the real images of the portable displaydevice, wherein the icons displayed by the wearable display device aredesigned to launch the one or more of the applications stored in thecomputer memory of the computer-driven wearable display device.
 13. Themethod of claim 11 including steps of sending input to one or more ofthe applications residing on the wearable display device through a userinterface residing on the portable display device, and providing aremote desktop to the wearable display device to provide input throughthe user interface of the portable display device to one or more of theapplications residing on the wearable display device.
 14. The method ofclaim 11 in which the display information recognized from the real-worldinformation about the wearer's real-world view includes a recognition ofpeople.